Windows 8.1 Leaked Build Shows Some Lessons Learned

A newly leaked build of Windows 8.1 shows a few interesting fit and finish changes to the coming update for Windows 8 and RT. But the biggest change, I think, is that the firm is finally abandoning one of the key differences between the Windows 8/RT user experience and that of Windows Phone 8. And by finally adopting a key user interface element found in that latter, more mature mobile product, Microsoft is doing the right thing.

I’ve been complaining for some time that the Windows team basically took the “Metro” design elements first used by the Windows Phone team and then ran off and did its own thing rather than making sure that the two platforms were as identical as possible from a user experience standpoint.

The weird differences between the Metro design in Windows 8/RT and Windows Phone 8 can be seen everywhere, in ways that are both profound and subtle. In Windows Phone 8, for example, Start screen tiles use a standard (and user configurable) color theme, whereas app makers hard code whatever color they wish to use on their Windows 8/RT tiles.

One could make a very long list of these kinds of differences, but from a fundamental standpoint, the thing that has bothered me the most is that, by going its own way with Metro, the Windows team has explicitly decided not to learn from three years of UI blunders that occurred first--and were then fixed first--on Windows Phone.

Two of the biggest ones were search and command discoverability.

On the search front, the original version of Windows Phone (7.0) used the hardware Search button contextually. So if you were in Mail and pressed Search, it would search your email. If you were on the Start screen, the Bing experience would load. This just confused users, so Microsoft build software search functionality into each app instead. And now the hardware Search button just loads Bing, no matter what you’re doing. Some still prefer the old way, I know, but the user feedback was overwhelming and obvious. And now it works more consistently. But when Microsoft created Metro for Windows 8/RT, it made exactly the same mistake: The Search charm was contextual in the initial release. So in Windows 8.1, they’re fixing it so that every built-in app has a software search feature that is both visible (you can actually see it and thus discover it, unlike the Search charm) and specific to what you are doing right then.

The second one seems more subtle but is I think even more important. In a bid to maximize on-screen real estate--which makes sense given the relatively small screen sizes with smart phones--Microsoft created a special app bar button called More (it looks like three dots, like “...”) that, when tapped, displays a pop-up menu that can display many more commands. But this item requires a visible app bar, which takes up space on screen, so Microsoft also allowed users to access these commands by tapping and holding on an item on-screen (sort of a touch-based way to do a right-click). The trouble is that few people knew to do this, so Microsoft made a special kind of app bar that has no buttons other than that More button. This app bar type is much smaller than a standard app bar and in Windows Phone 8, it was added in many places, such as in the Photos hub as shown at the bottom of this shot:

In Windows 8, Microsoft ignored this learning and insisted that every app could use every single pixel on-screen. This means that apps that needs lots of UI chrome--especially productivity apps like Mail or Calendar--require users to really understand how to find hidden UI elements: App bars, you see, are completely hidden in Windows 8. You have to right-click (or swipe up from the bottom of the screen, or down from the top) to display them. When you do this, you often see tons of commands.

Now, in Windows 8.1, Microsoft is finally (sort of) fixing another problem that Windows Phone fixed long ago: Apps can now alert users to the availability of more commands, and they can display a “More”-type mini app bar just Windows Phone 8.

Frankly, unless and until these apps let you just turn on and leave on a real app bar, it won’t be ideal. But it’s certainly better than the alternative. If the Windows team had been more open to creating common user experiences across platforms--i.e. was open to communicating--this and other similar issues could have been avoided. But it’s nice to see they’re finally listening: I’ve been complaining about this for a long time, and I’m sure others have as well.

Discuss this Article 42

So, for example, you have already purchase an app on the store. You want to search for another. Do you really preffer go two steps back to find the search box instead calling the charms?

Really? Learning from the mistakes on iOS, really?

On the other hand, on Windows 8 search, when you type the words you can choose search on the app you have opened, on the computer, on bing, or in other apps. Everything well done, separated by sections.

Now we have a poor done search section, with a list of words...
And a search field on an especific step of an app, do you want to search something on that app? Sorry, first you have to search the search field... Really... Really

I agree this does seem like a step back. It made a lot of sense(to me) that the search charm could be used on whatever app I was currently using. As a developer, I didn't need to clutter up my UI with a search textbox and button( or a menu option) thanks to the search charm. I guess this too is a compromise. With MS being as accomodating as they normally are, I'm kinda suprised that they didn't include an option for both.

Paul, which would you prefer? Yes hidden options are bad, but once you have learned the system it's kind of a waste of space.

Amen - first time I got stuck in IE10 (metro-style) on my Surface Pro I had to go to Desktop and do a search to find that "swipe from bottom" = right-click... jeez...
The crazily annoying "introduction" move (only shown for a new account at the first login, completely non-interactive - GREAT job guys!) doesn't hint at this in any way.

However, my pet-peeve with Windows 8 is that the taskbar (swipe-in from the left) is not shown when there is only one application open. This forces me to sometimes use the Windows button and sometime the more convenient swipe-from-left, click in bottom corner. Is this changed in Windows 8.1?

Another feature that didn't make the article, but that I like is the little arrow on the start screen, so just like you can swipe on the phone to get the complete list of apps, you can now click a visible arrow on the start screen instead of knowing you had to right click to get the bar, and then click on all apps.

I haven't used 8.1 yet, but would be nice if you also had the option to swipe up to get the the same list. Not just clicking on the arrow, I was watching the video of the leak, and the guy actually complained about it, having to find and click on the arrow every time.

2. The swipe from right search button now hardcodes directly to Bing (Seriously this is disappointing to a level I don't believe is healthy)

The first Item, no beef here, that's extra functionality. Sure the box might become an eye sore, but it'd be a mild one at worst.

Second, seriously... The cross App search functionality was a tremendously powerful feature in Windows 8. At least make this something I can toggle. It's just so nice when a friend messages you saying "have you heard this song" I can just swipe from the right, touch search, type it in and touch the song name under music and I'm there!

If this change is as we're hearing this means I have to do the old iOS style on handling this... jot down or copy/paste the name, get to the home screen (start screen), open the music app, paste the name into the search, hit go, find the name touch it, Now I get to play the song...

... Now these as I understand are based on assumptions and observations of a leaked build so may not be entirely what we get, I'm hopeful this new search box is a real thing (it's a good thing for unsavvy users), but... the swipe in from the right should still be cross app able. (I don't even care if they make bing search the highest level of it, but at least give me the option to check my search enabled installed apps, they could either make it a setting, or even make it like the lock screen where you can set a handful of apps to publish their information there selectively.)

I'm just hoping our assumptions are wrong, or they are making changes to the search functionality and while it's in progress they just short circuited it in the test build.

The Search charm works as before and you can continue to use it for searching within the current app. The issue is that the Search charm is not discoverable, so most apps will have a more obvious Search UI as well.

Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I can no longer seem to search Xbox music with the search charm. I have to go to the home screen of the app and use the new integrated search bar at the top right to find music inside and outside of my library. I liked the old search better but it may just be because I got used to it. I like Xbox music less and less every day now as well, but that's another story.

The charms search don't search for contacts if you are on contacts hub, for example.

On maps, trying to search? Good luck with that...

Is a step back. No opinion here, just facts.

The search charm now have only a few sections, I don't remember now (Im on the iPad), no suficient sections (no maps, no contacts).

As I said on another coment, if you hate so hard the hiden UI I purpose a magnifying glass icon that opens the charm search, for the people that don't know how to use the new Windows. I guess I can live with that.

I have to agree with you. The new search functionality is more confusing than ever. For example, if I go into Xbox Music and use the search box on the left, it automatically searches Xbox Music and jumps to the search screen we've always seen.

Now if I use the Search charm is opens a separate search box in the sidebar and if I enter a search term and hit enter, I jump way out of the app and to the universal OS search. You say the transition between the desktop and Start screen is jarring? This search behavior is way more jarring than that.

And as for the search button on Windows Phone...there isn't a day that goes by that I don't see a request for the hardware search button to work contextually on reddit. I feel like I've typed "it used to work that way in WP 7.0, but they changed it" dozens of times by now.

Paul, I sent an email to the guys on the Defrag show on Channel 9 and Gov, one of the hosts, said that Microsoft has heard users on title colors and might do something about it in "the next version of Windows".

Paul, this is a great post, which hits the problem of Windows 8 head on. The Win 8 pushes an idea of maximizing screen real estate to the extreme at the cost of usability and common sense. Finally even IE 11 allows you to have the address bar always on, which I had wanted for a long time.

I bought my mom a Windows Phone & Surface RT last year. She couldn't figure them out, quite possibly because of the missing menu bars (among other things). She seemed to be able to figure out my sister's iPhone quite easily... so this year I have to do the reasonable thing--buy her an iPhone. It pains me to do this, but I want her to use her device.

I'll still be sticking with Windows Phone & Windows 8... for now... but Microsoft really needs to step up their game.

The Surface RT has to succeed for Microsoft to make any traction in tablets. Most people don't want a full blown Windows tablet. I recently bought a Surface RT -- and even though I plan to return it and wait -- I actually liked having a tablet sized device that ran Office. Imagine a 7" device with those tiny desktop icons etc - terrible! My only problem was that it was still too complicated when compared to the iPad and Android tablets. The performance issues, IMHO are overrated. It is sluggish, yes, but it isnt that bad. Also, it took a few months of updates to get it to this point in terms of performance, so Microsoft definitely messed up there.

What is also interesting about all of this is that with Windows Phone, Microsoft released a snappy, but functionally limited OS and added features over time. With Windows RT, it's the exact opposite, where they're trying to simplify the OS now.

I don't agree with you when you say that Surface RT is more complicated that iPad and Android.
I happen to be working with all platforms and in terms of complexity vs. functionality, my ranking is:
1) Android
2) iPad
3) Surface RT
Surface RT being the least complicated.

I always thought to be really moron proof, (why not be moron proof?), that the 3 dots should have been and up arrow to the left of the word MORE.

Or even just an up arrow. But as for the 3 dots making it into Win 8, I'm giving that a slow clap, into a standing ovation. About time.

I have a HUGE problem with Search in that it doesn't search your contacts, WTF?!, and the order in which items are displayed bugs me a bit, but overall I think sliding in from the right is a huge improvement from losing the entire screen.

And video tutorials? A full YEAR after the initial release? inconceivable to me that this wasn't done from the start. Aren't you looking forward to the day that MS gets something right the FIRST time around?

This is a great update, and I give them kudos for doing it all within the first year.

IMO the search experience in Windows 8 (context sensual, no visible search boxes) was a logical and intelligent choice. It just assumed the user to know how to use it, and that's actually the point where Microsoft failed. If they had provided a proper tutorial on how to use the new UI, everyone would have had a chance to learn it. Yes, without knowing how to use it, you can call it a hidden UI and that's evil. But there's also no point in showing UI elements that feel quite unnecessary once you learned how to use the Search charm. And there's nothing wrong to ask people to sit down for five to ten minutes to explain them how to use something. In the past, software was delivered with big and heavy manuals, today everyone expects one can use a system without any briefing,

Don't get me wrong. The search experience in Windows 8.1 is not bad, it only feels like the famous step backwards when you learned it the Windows 8 way.

I don't suppose they'll also allow context menus to be shown...in context? Right clicking (or tap-holding) on an item on one part of the screen and having the context menu appear on an entirely different part of the screen is ridiculous. Might be okay on a 7" screen, but on a 27" monitor with a mouse having to move 20+" from the clicked item to select "Move" or "Delete" or whatever is crazy. There was nothing wrong with pop-up menus, IMO.

But don't you see that Windows 8 is not, was never, about providing a solid user experience on a regular, non-touch computer of any size?

Windows 8 was about leveraging Microsoft's dominant position in traditional PC OSes into a sliver of relevance in the (back then explosively growing) mobile and tablet markets.

So far, all Microsoft has to show are a number of burned bridges for ultimately very little impact in either newer markets. I'm sure they'll keep trying, past leadership made sure they have no other chance.

I definitely see that. Bridge-burning was the name of the game for that crew. But even in a tablet, seeing a context menu appear so far from the context of the interaction that one has to move their entire arm (i.e., not just rotate the wrist or move a finger) to reach the button is crazy inefficient. Windows Phone has pop-up menus that appear exactly where they should (beside, above or below the selected item). I'm just hoping that now that they have entered bridge-patching mode, maybe Win 8.x might (re)learn this lesson, as well.

There's always Kinect or Leap Motion for big non-touch screens. Or you can even use a Media Center remote control to move around the Start screen. And there's the Air Mouse series from Gyration (I'd love to try one of those), or you have those Ring Mouse doodads. And let's not forget that Windows has had Speech Recognition support built-in since Vista. Windows 8 is just plain better for large-screen use than prior versions because the Start screen gives you more information at a glance than a static menu. It also does scaling better than the desktop. I have a PC that hooks up to a Sony PlayStation 3DTV, and while it's a 24" LED-backlit LCD, and I'm only a few feet from it on a loveseat recliner, navigation is simple with the scaling options turned on. I often just use the arrow keys on the keyboard. And I can get information from apps without even having to launch them too. I have a few VM's that I test on the system, and Windows 7 just doesn't cut the mustard with this setup.

Is the three dot/more menu bar partially transparent? I know that transparency can be cheesy but on a horizontally oriented screen the bars take a fair bit of space and look out of place so I think it makes sense in this context.

They should do the same thing with the Charms. In Windows 8 they had a stupid tutorial that said "move your mouse to any corner". My left-handed friend moved it to the top left corner. I assumed he'd have swiped from the left edge too.

Aww, geez. The ellipsis on the appbar makes sense for phone, but not for mainstream Windows where you swipe from the top or bottom. Once you learn it ONCE, you will never have a problem. The way to fix the problem is to show users how to find the d*** thing.

And I like contextual search. I don't like the new Windows 8.1 search charm, so I will switch it back. It just makes sense. Why is that confusing? Wouldn't it be better to have a centralized place to search rather than be at the mercy of the particular app developer? Is the settings charm next? See, this is backing away from what the charms bar was intended to do.

And I so can't believe they had contextual search on the hardware search button in Windows Phone! I would have loved that on my WP8.

Maybe so. I hate nested screens too. Which is why I hate the new PC Settings screens compared to the old ones. Someone has to think up a way to cut down on the number of Control Panel-like settings in Windows. There are just way too many!

Did you know that in PC Settings in Windows 8.1, there are *43!!* screens of settings?! Let me say that again: *43 SCREENS OF SETTINGS*. THAT is bad UI!

The content has changed a bit over the last year. They always had an introductory video to show you what the Start screen was all about, but they eventually changed the other pages in the tutorial from mostly static pages with text to ones with more video content, and have now included basic navigation concepts for both touchscreens and mouse. Everything you need to know about Windows 8 is there though - you just have to read it (and watch the videos). I've followed that site for the last year and seen all the changes, but they do cover all of the standard navigation and settings in Windows 8, and delve into how apps work. They don't cover every single app though, since many apps change functionality over time, but they do at least teach you to check out right-click functionality for toolbars, and to look in the Settings charm for each app because each one is different. Once you know how one Windows Store app works, it's not hard to discover the functionality in other apps.

Microsoft asked OEM's if they wanted tutorials included and their tier-1 OEM's said no, and that they would include their own "Learn Windows 8" apps. Every System Builder copy of Windows 8 had the above website printed on the DVD sleeve. I don't know about other builders out there, but at least *I* always included a pin on the Start screen to the website with the revised title "Get Started with Windows 8" on every computer I always sold. Some customers need maybe a 5-minute tutorial to show them how to log on, how to access the Charms and Start screen, and how to connect to wireless, if necessary. If they have questions, we show them how to access the most common things. We have a separate PC in the shop to show them the same videos or help info in case they can't be bothered doing it at home so that we're not always tied up with questions. That whole website is a wealth of info though.

I think there are two things that are too often ignored from Windows Phone that could be in tablets or PCs.

1. Less default tiles or first screen tiles. I understand that a phone has less real estate, but so many tile options on Windows 8 probably confused already uncomfortable with computer users.

2. A back button. I guess on a tablet you can just swipe. I'm assuming because I never tried it. I have it on a laptop and it seems to switch apps when I swipe the touchpad. Something like that might have gone a long way the first someone used a Windows 8 computer or a Surface, and it's more than obvious what it would do.

3. I said 2, but I guess you could include the fact that there is a settings tile in Windows Phone as a bonus.

There's a huge discoverability problem -- too many important functions are hidden like easter eggs -- but I think just a few tweaks would make a huge difference.

For example, the Charms bar should be shown by default, and then power users (and beginners once they get comfortable) can go into Settings and turn Hiding on. That's how the Mac does the Dock -- power users turn Hiding on, but it's shown by default for the noobs. Otherwise my Mom would be completely lost and confused if the Dock was hidden by default. Imagine the reaction if the bottom row of icons on an iPhone was hidden by default. It's such a simple little thing but it would make a huge difference.

And how about a Shut Down Charm? Everyone has to shut down the computer the first time they use it, and beginners aren't going to go hunting around, they're just going to be frustrated.

Make things obvious for noobs, and then let power users customize things in Settings.

I've played around with Windows 8 and I actually really, really liked the Metro part. (Maybe there's a difference between playing around with it and owning it.) But there were a lot of times when I thought "My God, how could a typical beginner figure that out?" They don't need to force everyone to watch a bunch of tutorials -- just a few UI tweaks could go a long way towards making it intuitive.

Metro on Windwos 8, is plain cluttered and ugly with all those Back Arrows in top left corner wasting space across all Apps and displays. There is space on Tablets bezel for a proper Back Button, to ensure a consistent and coherant design and useability.